NY Times is making stuff up

The New York Times has a lengthy article on the Virginia Tech shooting incident. And as usual, they take the opportunity to bash Virginia, even if it means making stuff up:

Once a person had passed the required background check, state law requires that law enforcement officers issue a concealed carry permit to anyone who applies. However, no regulations and no background checks are required for purchase of weapons at a Virginia gun show.

Okay, number one: a concealed carry permit in Virginia requires the holder to pass a gun safety class, which includes a practical proficiency test on the range. Nowhere is this fact mentioned in the Times article.

Number two: Every purchase from a firearms dealer, whether at a gun show or gun shop, requires a national criminal background check.

The truth is, guns may be sold or traded among private citizens without background checks. This is the so-called gun show "loophole." And without any evidence that the shooter obtained his weapons in this way, why is such information even relevant to this report? Because some people don't like the way we live here, and this is an opportunity to give them a national platform from which to nanny:

“Virginia’s gun laws are some of the weakest state laws in the country,” said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. “And where there have been attempts to make some changes, a backdoor always opens to get around the changes, like the easy access at gun shows.”

For the record, I attend several gun shows in Virginia each and every year. And I have never, never, witnessed a transaction between private citizens at such a show. Every purchase I have seen at a Virginia gun show has been subject to a national criminal background check, in accordance with federal law. The Times needs to stick to the relevant facts, and get them accurate.